Yankees activate Pearce, option McGehee

First baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce has reported to the New York Yankees, and to accommodate him on the 25-man roster, the team has optioned infielder Casey McGehee to Class-A Charleston.

Pearce will make his Yankees debut on Tuesday night as the designated hitter and will hit fourth against Toronto left-hander Ricky Romero. Pearce has always been strong against southpaws, hitting .277 against lefties for his career and .275 this year with Houston and Baltimore, and manager Joe Girardi told the media prior to the game that he did not want to disrupt the top three hitters in the order (Jeter, Swisher, and Cano) so he slotted his new DH into the cleanup spot vacated by Mark Teixeira.

McGehee, acquired on July 31 from Pittsburgh for RHP Chad Qualls, hit .186 with a home run and six RBI in 13 games with the Yankees, and his option to Charleston may allow the Yankees to bring him back to the Bronx sooner than the end of the mandatory 10-day waiting period.

Normally, players must remain in the Minors for 10 days after being optioned unless they are recalled to replace an injured player. However, there is a loophole in the MLB transaction rules that allows players to be brought back sooner if the affiliate they are optioned to sees their season end within that 10-day window; Charleston’s regular season concludes on Monday and the RiverDogs will not be advancing to the South Atlantic League playoffs, so by going to Charleston, McGehee could theoretically return to the Majors as soon as September 4.